The Fallen Tower Inn

Jédes’s only inn gets its name from the fall of the keep about 120 years ago. The sign above the door shows a tower collapsing into a river. Stone reclaimed from the ruined keep was used to build the inn, which was extended twenty-five years ago. The Fallen Tower sees a huge difference in trade over the year; by far the busiest time is during the horse fair. The innkeeper, Jastrin of Dyrl, is in his mid thirties. He is easy-going and hard-working, with a remarkable memory for names and faces. Jastrin is the guildmaster of Asólade, but as there are only three inns, and no taverns, in the hundred this is not an onerous task. Jastrin’s wife, Shalya, is ten years his junior. She is friendly and gregarious with long black hair and pale, freckled skin. Shalya and Jastrin have three young children, all of whom work in the kitchen with their mother. Jastrin employs a journeyman, 22-year-old Halir of Densar, who lusts after Shalya. Halir has mistaken her open friendship for sexual interest. Jastrin’s only other full-time employee is 15-year-old Ealfric of Lysten, son of the innkeeper of Yeáshim. Ealfric is nervous and shy—not the best traits for an innkeeper. The locals take every opportunity to embarrass him. During the fair Jastrin usually takes on three or four additional members of staff, usually the wives of local freemen. Jastrin always tries to employ mature women rather than young girls. The guildmaster brews and sells: Haniale, a traditional piney, nut brown ale common across Káldôr; Jastrin’s Dark, a dark mild beer; and Asólade Perry, made to his own recipe from local pears. Jastrin also distils a strong pear liqueur. He buys imported wines and mead at the beginning of the horse fair, and charges premium prices for them. Whatever remains after the fair is usually heavily discounted, as locals rarely buy “foreign” drinks. Jastrin charges standard prices (¼d per pint) for his ale, beer, and perry. His measures, however, are always short; he can sell nine of his pints from a true gallon. Jastrin himself drinks only sparingly. Food provided at the inn—locally caught trout and sometimes other fish, local sausages, ham, and bacon—is usually of a reasonable quality. During the horse fair there is always a pig roasting on a spit.
[1] Common Room
The large common room is full and busy on market days, but at other times the inn can be very quiet. Even on market days it is rare for all the bedrooms to be occupied. This all changes during the horse fair and in the days before St. Bromel’s Fast, when finding even a patch of floor in common room is difficult.
[2] Kitchen
Like the common room, this can be a busy place on market days. Locals often barter meat for ale, so meat stew of one sort or another is often on the menu on market days. At most other times the kitchen caters only for the staff. Food is plain, but usually plentiful; trout, pottage, bread, and cheese are always available.
[3] Staff Quarters
Jastrin and Shalya sleep in the small private room, which they currently share with their six-month-old baby daughter, Julyen. Halir sleeps in one of the bunks in the adjacent area, which he shares with Ealfric and his master’s two sons: Bodwyn, aged 5, and Aneuryn, aged 2.